"Jimmy, you can't be serious," Qrow yelled, punching the desk so hard it shook the monitor that was resting on it.
"Of course I'm serious, I'd never joke about something like this. I'm sorry, but I tried to tell you. You only have yourself to blame," James said sternly, his hands clasped loosely on the table, his posture more rigid than normal.
"There has to be something else we can do, isn't my testimony good enough?"
"You weren't there, Qrow, it has to be them. Otherwise, the best thing we can hope for is that she chooses to stay away,"
"But the judge knows what she did, we can't even get a restraining order against her? Something? The girls have prom tomorrow and I don't want that crazy bitch anywhere near the school," He asked, pacing around the couches in a circle.
"I know you don't, but the judge also knows that the case was thrown out. It was for a dumb processing error, but it was still thrown out. We can try to prosecute her again, but it's been so long that unless we get the girls to testify it won't happen," James said, his hands shaking and his knuckles white now.
"I can't ask them to do that, it destroyed them the first time. Jesus, Jimmy, Ruby didn't smile for months!"
"Don't you think I remember that? Who do you think was there for you while you were wallowing in your drunken stupor? I tried for weeks to get them to open up, to say something, I used every trick I knew and they didn't so much as blink. I don't want them to go through it any more than you, but we don't have many choices right now," James said, putting his hands on the table and lifting himself up to his full height.
"Then find something else," Qrow growled, setting his feet firmly on the ground while he glared at Jimmy.
"There is nothing else," James said calmly, his eyes sharp like razors as he met Qrows eyes. The two were silently screaming at each other while the only noise in the office was the fan of the computer. Qrow looked down at the floor with his hands clenched, breathing like he'd just ran a marathon.
"That's not good enough, James." Qrow said softly as he turned around and walked out the door, slamming it closed behind him. He started walking down the hall, slumping with his hands in his pockets. He tried to keep his eyes on the ground but caught himself looking at the plaques as he passed, ignoring the one marked, Winter S.
"Didn't go well?" Amy asked as she popped her head out of the office doorway.
"Don't you have some faxes to send or something?"
"A what? Never mind, don't change the subject," Amy said, pointing at Qrow's chest. He sighed, walking past her and into the lobby, "Or you could just be rude and walk away, that's fine,"
Qrow stopped and turned on his heel, eyes burning red, "No, it didn't go well,"
Amy blinked at him, then nodded, "You should call her, she could help,"
"And what exactly could Winter do? Talk me to death?"
"She could help get them to take the stand, or maybe find some other way out completely. That girl's something else, you never know what she can pull off,"
"Yeah, you never know what she can do. She could pull of a miracle, or she could leave us even worse off than last time,"
"Are you still hanging on about that? God, what are you in middle school?" Amy asked mockingly, rolling after him in her chair.
"Middle school? She broke up with me when I was about to propose!"
"And she's the only one who might be able to help your nieces! Doesn't that mean more to you than whatever useless pride you've got in your chest. She didn't want to marry you then, so what? It hurts like hell but life still goes on for you both. Have you ever thought that she might regret it worse than you could possibly imagine?" Amy said as she stood up, eyes wide.
"I'd ask, but I know you've done dumb things that you regret too. Yeah, this was a doozy, and nobody's asking you to forgive her! Can you just stop dwelling on it and treat her like a person who's made a mistake again instead of a villain?"
"I appreciate the advice, kid, but talk about things you know next time," Qrow spat, turning and hitting the elevator button.
"I might not know much about you or relationship, but we both know Winter would do anything for you if you asked," she said, biting her tongue, "almost anything,"
Qrow looked at her like she was something you'd scrape off the bottom of your shoe, eyes glowing with rage. The elevator dinged, grinding as it slid open to reveal a box full of suits, "Whatever," he said, pushing his way through.
"If Glynda can do it, why can't you?" Amy asked desperately as the doors closed, blocking out her voice as the elevator started its descent.
The men and women in the elevator barked on their phones like a group of howling dogs, breathing heavily while the air conditioning blasted. Qrow gritted his teeth while he stared at the wood paneling, forcing his hand to stay at his side.
"Why? For once can't something work out? Why doesn't anything ever go right?" He asked, not getting a glance from anyone in the room until the doors opened. Everyone shuffled out, leaving Qrow behind as he walked like a zombie into the lobby.
Qrow walked out of the lobby in a daze, walking down the steps and onto the sidewalk, feeling the wind soar past him as the cars raced down the road. He passed by Harbinger and the hot dog stand, smelling the bitter hot dog water as he did.
"Guess I skipped out on practice for nothing," He sighed, looking up at the blue sky as he walked, dodging every pothole and crack. His feet knew the route they always took, and that it would be five minutes before he looped back around. They'd done it enough that he could describe every shop and flickering street light with his eyes closed.
"Amy doesn't even know what day it is, I don't need help from someone like that," Qrow pulled out his phone and waited while it rang, running a hand through his hair.
"Where the heck are you, ya knit wit? You couldn't have bothered to leave a note? Email? Anything to let me know I'd be running things on my own?" Maria screeched through the phone, forcing Qrow to pull the mic away from his ear or risk permanent damage.
"Do you have to yell like that, you're gonna scare the kids on the street with a voice like that,"
"Don't get snarky with me, kid! Not when you two are the ones who bailed! Now get your butt back here before I throw your desk into the shredder,"
"Do it, then maybe I'll finally get something halfway desce- Did you say the two of us?" Qrow sputtered, tripping on a loose chunk of cement.
"Yes, the two of you! Don't think you're being sneaky because you had her tell Jaune some nonsense,"
"Nonsense? What the hell did Ruby tell Jaune?" Qrow asked, coming to a stop before he started typing on his phone.
"Something about dress shopping in December, you know how squeaky his voice is," She whispered as a muffled shout came from somewhere in the background.
"Dress shopping? For prom? She already has hers though, she and Yang made huge deals out of it. But give him a break, he's a teenager. His voice is gonna be squeaky for a while, just because-" He said, stopping when he turned around and looked into the shop window he was standing in front of.
It wasn't a side shop, but it was deep, holding all sorts of different dresses. Sparkling pink, cocktail dresses, and even flowing wedding dresses in the back. There were mirrors all over the walls, most of them filled with the smiling faces of girls and women as they made their decisions.
Sitting on the opposite side of the window, looking towards the two girls that were talking over a dress, was the white-haired woman herself. "Hey, Hag, tell Jaune to work on some of that business stuff and to get the chassis finished, he'll know the rest. I gotta go,"
"Don't tell me what to do like you're my boss!"
"I am your-"
"You better be GOing back to school before I,-" Qrow hung up, smirking as he put it away and walked into the shop.
It smelled like perfume and glitter as he walked into the bright room, the chatter of teenagers in the air like smoke. He walked past the wedding dresses without giving them a second glance, taking a breath as he walked up to the girls.
They were looking through a rack, Ruby's face alight as she talked at a million miles an hour asking about colors and tones. Weiss nodded along with a smile, her eyes on Ruby instead of the dresses. Winter was sitting on a chair with her knees pulled up to her chest, watching the two talk like it was a movie.
"You just got me an earful from Maria, do you have any idea how painful that was?" Qrow asked, walking up and sitting down in the chair next to Winter. The three of them turned to him like they'd just heard a thunderclap after missing the lightning.
"Uncle Qrow? What're you doing here? Wait, Oh gosh, I didn't call you, did I?"
"As a matter of fact you did, and this doesn't exactly look like something worth skipping a build over," He asked, leaning back and crossing his arms.
"Sorry Mr. Branwen, it was all my fault, I convinced her to come," Weiss said shakily, her hands gripping the hem of her dress.
"Maybe, but she's the one that ditched practice for this. You better have a good reason for leaving school without telling me,"
"I do, Weiss really needed help finding a dress for prom! She said she could help with our business work if I came, so I told Jaune I had a mission to complete! Now we're gonna do great for sure!"
"Qrow, it's one practice, just let it go," Winter said briskly, her brows scrunching together as she looked at him. "What're you even doing here?"
"I was in the area talking to a friend, nothing you need to worry about," Qrow said, looking away from her and towards Ruby who was busy trying to calm Weiss down. Winter raised her eyebrow at him before looking out at the road, eyes widening.
"Oh, that friend,"
"Mr. Ironwood? Your office is right up the road, isn't it Winter?" Ruby asked, smushing her face against the window to try and see the building.
"Fine, way to force it out of me. Yeah, it was Jimmy,"
"What about? Anything fun?" Ruby asked with a smile. Qrow looked down at the ground, something both of the Schnee sisters noticed.
"No, only catching up is all. Jerks schedule's so packed I don't ever have time to bust in and see him anymore,"
"Oooh, that's good you got to see him then, I always love talking to him,"
"Let's not get off topic, did you say that Weiss made a deal with you to go dress shopping with her so she can do what?" Qrow asked, seeing Winter perk up as he talked.
"She said she could run the business stuff while we focus on the cool robot bits, so even if I don't go today we'll still be fine!"
"You did? Weiss, why didn't you tell me?" Winter asked, getting a shrug from her sister.
"It happened an hour or two ago and it's not like we've had any alone time," Weiss defended, crossing her arms.
"You trust her that much, Ruby? You hardly even know her," Qrow asked, his heartbeat in his ears.
"I might not know her super well, but I know that she'll do her best to get it done," Ruby said calmly, her shoulder still firmly on Weiss's shoulder.
"And you can actually do that, Weiss?" Qrow asked, watching her face go pale and her knees start to buckle. Ruby put a hand on her shoulder to keep her steady, but that only made her wobble more.
"I-I-I can do it," she nodded fiercely, getting a whoop of approval from Ruby. Qrow looked her up and down, knowing full well that Winter was eying him equally intensely.
"You better be ready for a real trial by fire, and you should know this won't be easy,"
"Don't worry about me, I'll make sure that Ruby can do what she does best," Weiss said, her blue eyes like a snow leopard about to go on the attack. Qrow looked between the two girls and could feel the trust flowing between them like electricity, remembering when he'd felt the same way before.
"Then I'll see you at practice, Weiss," He said as he stood up, putting his hands in his pocket, "There's just one catch, if you wanna help I need a little help,"
"What do you need?" Weiss asked her voice back to a tremble. He turned and looked at Winter, who challenged his gaze like it was a fight.
"Your sister, she needs to volunteer at the dance tomorrow,"
"Are you serious?" Winter blinked, feeling her heart start beating.
"You wanted to help, right? Well I need someone to help me keep a lookout, I mean, chaperone. Think you can do that?"
"Yeah, I can do that," Winter nodded, a dazed expression on her face, but one filled with conviction.
"Then I'll see you tomorrow at eight," He nodded as he stood up and started walking to the door, "I'll see you at home, Ruby. Weiss, I'll see you at practice," He said as he walked out the door and into the street. He walked down to his car, stopping and almost turning back three times before he finally made it.
"Now all I have to do is keep that psycho away from my family," Qrow sighed as he put his hand on the door handle, "Shit, I'm gonna need a tux,"